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March 7, 2009
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Front Royal continues police chief search

Town currently reviewing applications, resumes, thorough, institutional knowledge of applying for the chief’s spot is a plus.
the area and the department is a plus. “I think it helps a lot,” he said.
hopes to name individual to post by early April “The candidate that surpasses all “We’re building on the department as
others will have the ability to lead the it’s been built over the last 20-some
TOP OF THE MORNING Town of Front Royal Police Depart- years. When I first came here back in
By Bob Wooten By Ben Orcutt after serving as chief for five years. ment during our current and future 1982, the department had a bad repu-
Daily Staff Writer The interim chief, Capt. Richard H. economic times and will live tation. Over those years, we’ve
Furr, is one of four candidates from within our community, provid- worked hard to turn that repu-
FRONT ROYAL — The town hopes

Paper will to have a new police chief by the end

of this month or early April, accord-
ing to human resources director Julie
A. Bush.
Virginia who applied for the vacant
spot and the only one from the imme-
diate area, Bush said as a follow-up to
her press release. The town received 17
ing an atmosphere of public
safety that is dedicated to the
citizens of Front Royal,” Bush
says.
tation around.”
Furr has said the Front
Royal Police Department is
comprised of 37 sworn officers
applications for the chief of police post,

lose inch “We extended our original closing

date to Feb. 23, 2009, to ensure a larg-
er pool of candidates from which to
select our next Chief of Police,” Bush
with the annual salary listed at
$60,590 to $96,865, Bush says.
“We have conducted extensive
research with other communities to
Bush goes on to say that once
the screening process is com-
pleted, the candidates will
then be narrowed to the final Furr
and 15 civilians.
If he is selected as the next
chief of police, Furr has said he
is committed to serve in the

to go the says in a Thursday press release.

“We are currently in the process of
reviewing applications and resumes,”
Bush adds.
develop our process and have also
sought out the expertise of retired law
enforcement personnel,” Bush adds.
“The qualities that will separate candi-
two or three.
A native of Houston, Furr is a 1975 years.
graduate of Page County High School.
capacity for at least three

“Certainly, if I get this position, I’m

He began his career with the Front here for the long run,” Furr said. “If

extra mile Ronald A. Williamson resigned as

Front Royal’s police chief effective Dec.
1 after nearly a three-year stint.
Williamson, a nearly 27-year depart-
dates into the final selection process
will be an individual who is well-sea-
soned in law enforcement, with a large
town or small city experience.”
Royal Police Department in 1982 as a not, I’ll have to look at the other
patrol officer and has worked his way opportunities that may be out there.
up through the ranks, being promoted My lifelong goal has been to move
to his current position of deputy chief myself into this seat.”
Those of you with short arms may ment veteran, succeeded Ronald A. Graham, who will make the hire, has in 2005. R Contact Ben Orcutt at
like Monday’s issue of The Northern Ricucci, who stepped down in 2005 said that while the process will be Furr has said that being an insider borcutt@nvdaily.com
Virginia Daily.
Everyone else will simply notice
the newspaper feels a little skinnier
than the one you hold in your hands
right now.
On Monday, the Daily will intro-
duce a new, smaller format. Each1
Council
page of the newspaper will be 11 ⁄2
inches in width, an inch narrower
than the current format, which we
have used for several years.
to decide
I have too much respect for our
readers to offer the “compact, handi-
er size” twaddle some newspapers
dish up when forced to take this
on land
cost-cutting step.
The fact is we’re tightening our
belts. The rotten economy has
affected the Daily just like every
other business in the Northern
purchase
Shenandoah Valley.
In recent months, we have taken Strasburg entered
measures to trim expenses and find
new revenue for our business opera- contract to buy old
tion.
For one thing, we’ve cut back on Brill property in ’08
everything from travel to paper
clips and ink pens. By Elizabeth Wilkerson
We also raised the single copy Daily Staff Writer
price of the newspaper from 35
cents to 50 cents and began charg- STRASBURG — The Town
ing a fee for full-length obituaries. Council will decide Tuesday

Practice makes perfect

At the same time, we have over-
hauled our Web site, www.nvdaily
.com, to offer more content to our
online readers and create a new
source of revenue for the newspaper.
We expect this robust site will con-
tinue to grow as an important plat-
form for delivering news about the
valley.
One of the more unpopular steps
has been elimination of the weekly
TV book, which many readers
enjoyed but was simply unprof-
itable.
We also have cut back on the
number of pages printed on many
days.
We took most of these measures
reluctantly, but perhaps the most
painful step has been reducing our
staff. Every area of the Daily’s oper-
ation has been forced to cut man-
power, including the news and
advertising departments, the press-
room, mailroom and administrative
staff.
Similar measures are being taken
at every newspaper in the nation as
our industry grapples not only with
the recession but the long-term
challenges posed by readers turning
to the Web for information.
Not all our brethren will survive.
On Feb. 27, the venerable Rocky
Mountain News joined the ranks of
failed newspapers.
Here at the Daily, though, we have
no intention of going the way of the
Rocky.
That’s why we made all those dif-
ficult decisions. Fortunately, shaving
an inch off the width of our news
pages was an easy one.
Newsprint is one of the costliest
ingredients in each day’s issue, and
using less paper helps us devote
resources to the Daily’s true value
— our news and information.
Once readers become accustomed
to the way the new size feels in
their hands, they will find little else
has changed.
We’ll still have staff writers in
Strasburg, Woodstock, Front Royal
and Winchester delivering the solid
reporting you expect. We’ll still have
a sports staff committed to deliver-
ing the best report on local prep
athletics available.
We’ll still have a daily opinion
section for an exchange of views.
We’ll still have the best advice that
Abby, Dr. Donohue and Heloise
have to offer.
And we’ll still have a comics page
to give you a laugh every morning.
Our goal here at the Daily is not
just to survive the current economic
turmoil but to thrive in the future.
We are taking steps now to ensure
we’re around for a long, long time.
R Bob Wooten is the managing
editor of the Daily. Contact
him at (800) 296-5137 or at
bwooten@nvdaily.com.
The French horn section of the Skyline High School band practices for a performance with Boston
Brass, an ensemble jazz, instrumental and vocal group, on Wednesday evening at the school.
Skyline band
prepares for
its concert with
professionals
By M.K. Luther
Daily Staff Writer
FRONT ROYAL — Skyline High
School band students will play with
the pros next week.
On Wednesday, the Boston Brass, an
ensemble jazz, instrumental and
vocal group, will host a student work-
shop at Skyline High School and then
join with the students to put on an
evening concert.
The five-member, Boston-based
ensemble group travels to middle and
high schools across the country,
encouraging young musicians to pur-
sue music studies and, eventually,
professional music careers.
Jeff Conner, 45, one of the founding
members of the group, learned the
vital importance of participating in
live performances while working on
his master’s at Boston University.
Conner said his music instructors
Frederick eyes property tax increase
Public hearing could be scheduled for March 25
By Alex Bridges
Daily Staff Writer
WINCHESTER — Property owners in
Frederick County may see their tax
bills go up, but government won’t see
any more revenue from the increase.
The Frederick County Board of
Supervisors agreed at a work session
on its proposed fiscal 2010 budget
Wednesday to schedule a public hear-
ing on the rates it charges for real
and band directors stressed partici-
pation in live music events not just
for entertainment and practice, but
also as a learning process.
Conner said the Boston Brass school
tours help students get a glimpse of
what professional performing is all
about.
“The students get excited about
music and realize the possibilities of
what music can do,” Conner said. “It
helps the band program and it gets
the kids energized about performing.”
Skyline band director Kim Kiec first
encountered the Boston Brass at a
Virginia Music Educators Association
conference. When Kiec learned the
ensemble was scheduled to play in
Richmond and Alexandria in Janu-
ary, she worked to have Skyline High
School added to the tour schedule.
estate and personal property.
The hearing likely would be scheduled
for the board’s regular meeting March
25.
Supervisors backed advertising rates
that would remain revenue neutral.
But in both cases, the rates would have
to increase because most real estate
and personal property such as motor
vehicles lost value, according to Jay
Tibbs, clerk of the Board of Supervi-
sors.
Dennis Grundman/Daily
The Boston Brass was able to
reschedule for this month after win-
ter weather forced the postponement
of the planned January concert.
Skyline High School’s band booster
club, BandAids, paid the initial per-
formance fee and is hoping to raise
additional funds with a pre-concert
spaghetti dinner in the cafeteria to be
held at 6:30 p.m., with the concert fol-
lowing at 7 p.m. in the school audito-
rium.
“I was really proud of the band par-
ents,” Kiec said. “We spend all our time
trying to raise money — which we
need to do for the band — but we want-
ed to do something to bring good musi-
cal opportunities to the community.”
Students from Warren County High
School, the county’s middle school,
BAND, B5
The county currently levies a real
estate tax rate of 52.5 cents per $100 of
assessed value. At previous work ses-
sions, supervisors agreed to roll the
rate back to 51 cents to make the levy
revenue neutral. But Tibbs noted the
rate may end up at 51.25 cents or 51.5
cents, depending on final numbers
offered by the commissioner of the rev-
enue.
The personal property tax rate likely
would have to be increased from the
current $4.20 per $100 of assessed
value to about $4.90, Tibbs said.
TAX, B5
whether to purchase a roughly
quarter-acre property next to the
Town Hall, officials said Friday.
On Dec. 26, the town entered a
contract to purchase the land, at
216 E. King St., for $160,000.
There are two buildings on the
12,000-square-foot lot — a
small, white building that resi-
dents refer to as the “taxi stand”
and a brick building that once
housed Brill’s Grocery.
According to an addendum to
the contract of purchase, the
town had 60 days from the date
of the agreement to determine,
through engineering and feasi-
bility studies, whether its devel-
opment plan for the property
was practical. In January,
Fauber said officials were con-
sidering the site
for a possible
police station.
On Friday,
Mayor Tim Tay-
lor said the
council had dis-
cussed a variety
of potential uses
for the property,
Taylor
including addi-
tional office or parking space, at
a closed meeting on the matter
on Feb. 21.
“We looked at all kinds of
options,” he said. “Any time you
have an opportunity to look at
property that’s contiguous to
your own, it’s worth looking at.”
At this point, Taylor said, the
council needs to decide whether
it’s worth it to purchase the
property.
According to a staff report pre-
pared by Town Manager Kevin
Fauber, Wiley & Wilson, a
Lynchburg-based firm now per-
forming a needs assessment of
Strasburg’s police, fire and res-
cue agencies, completed a feasi-
bility study of the property. Blue
Ridge Appraisal Company, LLC
appraised the property at
$170,000 using a sales compari-
son approach, the report says.
On Friday, Fauber said he
thought the firm analyzed three
similar properties to come up
with the assessed value of the
land next to town hall.
A cost estimate for the stabi-
lization of the taxi stand was
requested at the Feb. 21 meet-
ing, and should be completed by
Wiley & Wilson in time for the
council’s Tuesday meeting,
Fauber said.
At this time, he said, a closed
session related to the property is
not planned for Tuesday’s meet-
ing, but “that’s subject to
change.”
R Contact Elizabeth Wilkerson
at ewilkerson@nvdaily.com

T T